CorePR: 5 Things You Need to Do

CorePR: 5 Things You Need to Do: Holed up at home?   Everyone is.  World over. It could be a blessing in disguise. For many of us, who remain busy day-in...

Who is responsible?

A recent tragic incident left a family devastated. And it so happens..day after day. The headline read "A BMW Driven At 120 Kmph Kills Uber Driver on First Day of Job"

Ironically the accused was released from prison on bail after few hours.

Who is responsible?

The young reckless youth who drove irresponsibly?

His parents who did everything they could to release him?

The upbringing , the diminishing moral values?

Or our legal system, who fails to tighten the noose for the guilty?

Unfortunately, human life is not much valued upon...at least not in our part of the world!!

http://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/bmw-driven-at-120-per-hour-kills-uber-driver-on-first-day-of-job-1652085

A Driverless world!!

Sharing a very interesting and intriguing TedTalk by Transportation Geek Wanis Kabbaj. The expert draws an analogy between urban streets and biology of human beings uncovering the solution of traffic snarls and other traffic problems from within our ownselves, portraying beautifully how a driverless world would look like. 

With 60,000 miles of blood vessels within us, and every space being fully utilised without any clogging,  it is now time to look for transport solutions beyond surface grids. China's Transit Elevated Bus system, the ''straddling bus'' is one such example. 

Enjoy the talk!!

https://www.ted.com/talks/wanis_kabbaj_what_a_driverless_world_could_look_like?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread

Please slow down!!

The more speed you endorse..the more damage..sometimes irreplaceable.
This PSA by Winnipeg police says it all!!

Please drive within speed limits.

Traffic SMART :)

An innovative way to make people wait or rather dance at traffic lights ;) ..DO WATCH!!

The culprit...Speeding yet again!!

The newspapers today covered another two major road crashes, where one was in Delhi, the other one in Chandigarh. Ironically, the similarity was overspeeding, loss of control of vehicle and road fatalities in one while injuries to over fifteen bus passengers in another. 

The Audi in which two brothers died was beyond recognition.
Financial loss still can be recovered but what about human loss?
Its time to rethink..

Source: Pics from mail today and Chandigarh bhaskar, June 12, 2014. 

Speed thrills but kills!!

This is a call to action … 

Do you see the motorcycle?  Now do you see it?  This wrecked vehicle, with the motorcycle still wedged inside, was displayed as a Swedish Police and Road Safety Department exhibit at the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair, apparently as a warning to drivers about the dangers of speeding and unsafe driving. The graphic display was placed at the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair by the Swedish Police and Road Safety Department. The sign above the display noted that the rider had only recently obtained his license. The Honda rider was traveling at such a "very high speed", his reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident. Swedish Police estimate a speed of ~250 KM/h (155mph) before the bike hit the side of the slow moving car at an intersection. At that speed, they predicted that the rider's reaction time (once the Volkswagen came into view) wasn't sufficient enough for him to even apply the brakes. The car had two occupants and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them, along with the motorcycle itself. The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 10 feet from where the collision took place. All three involved (two in the car, plus the rider) were killed instantly. Learn from this experience. Drive within the speed limits..ALWAYS!! SOURCE: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/motoycle-inside-vw-accident.shtml,  Excerpts from article written by Brett M. Christensen

Road safety crusader who lost her husband and daughter to a speeding bus..strives on!!

Just going through the newspapers in morning, I came across this article on a 'Road Safety Crusader Jyoti Gupta', and her story on how she lost her husband 'Pankaj Gupta', cardiologist at Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon and her three year old daughter 'Lineshya'. 

It was heart rending account of how these two innocent lives were lost to a speeding bus. After the accident, the driver casually said, 'that I pressed the accelerator instead of the breaks'. 

With over three years of driving experience, the driver confessed that he got his driving license illegally through an agent by just paying Rs. 5,000/-, later realizing the gravity of the situation, retorted, "Why blame me? Just my following rules wont make any difference. And I needed money for my poor family back home."

Can this highly callous, indifferent and irresponsible attitude be excused?

While Jyoti has taken up the road safety crusade by writing a letter to the Prime Minister seeking a comprehensive National Road Safety Law, nothing can make up for the life of her deceased husband and daughter. We salute her for her spirit and courageous initiative of making a difference.

With one road death happening every four minutes on Indian roads, there are thousands of unfortunate stories like these. 

Though Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 is in place yet much needed amendments are yet to take place. What can we do till the time a comprehensive road safety legislation is operational?

I want answers from the readers..

Source: Utpal Kumar, Mail Today, New Delhi/Chandigarh, Sunday, June 8, 2014. 

Unfortunate death of Union Minister in road accident

Death of Member of Parliament today in road crash at least have wakened the nation up with tv debates and analysis. Most people are blaming Delhi roads, traffic police, forgetting the fact it is the people behind the wheels who flout laws, and ultimately are facing the consequences. As per the news report, red light jumping was the cause of the road accident.

Red light jumping is one of the most common traffic violation and the reason for road crashes. In order to probe as to how many of us do abide by the traffic rules. In one of my published article, I asked few questions on abiding traffic rules, especially red traffic lights. The study was conducted in Chandigarh, India on a sample of one hundred drivers, and the responses were as follows: 

Questions Gender Yes Always Yes Sometimes Not at all  Unanswered Do you stop at the Red Traffic Lights? Male 76% 20% 4% -- Female 80% 18% 2% -- Do you stop at the red traffic light, if there is no traffic on roads? Male 42% 42% 14% 2% Female 68% 32% -- -- Do you stop at red traffic light if there is no policeman at traffic lights? Male 58% 28% 12% 2% Female 80% 14% 4% 2% Do you stop at red light at night, if there is no traffic on road? Male 34% 36% 28% 2% Female 46% 46% 8% --

It clearly showed that compliance to red traffic lights was dependent on the enforcement,  where there was no visible enforcement, i.e. no traffic police to issue challan/ticket for violation,  there was more probability on part of the driver to violate it. The tendency to violate traffic rules  was more among male drivers than females. Also, there was more likelihood of jumping red lights during night where there is no traffic and no policeman to catch hold of the violator. We forget at times that compliance to traffic rules is an obligation we do for our own safety and  not for the traffic police. Road crashes are preventable. Spread the word.   References: Vinayak, S., and Assi, G.S. (2011). Do gender differences really exist when it  comes to Driving Anger? A psychological probe. International Journal of Current Research,  Vol. 3, Issue, 10, pp.194-199.

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!

Celebrating road safety ..the ganpati style :)

Always wear seat belts while riding four-wheelers

World's most dangerous roads!!

With one road crash fatality happening every four minutes on Indian roads, nothing could be worse than that. This short documentary made by the BBC gives an overview of how risky and dangerous it is to drive on Indian roads. As an Indian I feel miserable and really bad but ironically it is the truth!!

Watch...Listen...Think

This is a brilliant ad by Mahendra's featuring Aamir Khan.  The message is for every youngster. Watch it. Listen to every word carefully.  And drive safe. 

Are they Immortals??

Overspeeding, triple riding, riding helmetless on two-wheelers is a common scenario on Indian roads. What these youngsters do not understand is they are staking their own life as well as of other road users. These girls riding at more than 50kmph on internal roads of the city are compromising their lives with no safety gear at all. Its almost similar to committing suicide. Kindly take a lesson, DO NOT do this, YOU HAVE ONLY ONE LIFE, PROTECT IT, ITS PRECIOUS!!

Keep Zebra crossing free!!

Keep Zebra crossing free, have a respect for pedestrians. Someday you might have to cross that road...

No helmet, no petrol

Non usage of protective gear while driving is one of the major cause of death during a road crash. Helmets are quite effective in reducing the likelihood of head injuries as well as its severity. In India 69% of the total number of motor vehicles are motorized two-wheelers, considerably higher than in high-income countries. In European countries, head injuries contribute to around 75% of deaths among motorized two-wheeler users; in some low-income and middle-income countries head injuries are estimated to account for up to 88% of such fatalities. India having the second-largest two-wheeler market in the world and among the first in terms of road fatalities needs stringent enforcement for compulsory usage of helmets while driving two-wheeler. Compulsory enforcement in some countries have brought down the fatality rate. 
A recent initiative of "No helmet, No Petrol" by Ranchi authorities has been started in order to bring down the road fatality rate. However, the petrol pump owners are little skeptical on the success of this initiative but everything done for a good cause with a good intention is more than welcome.

For more read on:
Helmets: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2006.
No helmet, no petrol in Ranchi

Snippets

Here are some road scenarios to think about as to what we do on roads unconcerned about others.

And here I was the witness to pile up in Chandigarh as these cars speeded up on a busy road
and ended up crashing into each other. Fortunately only three got badly damaged
while four other just escaped with few scratches. 

.

Here's a  new style of "wearing" helmet...
after all it is for the enforcement and not for your own safety...isn't it??

Barricades left unattended in the midst of road..
can prove fatal especially when placed immediately after a turn...

And here is horse cart with its unmarked protruding load
moving on the right of the road

And here's a probably rich guy in a sedan
transporting some material protruding dangerously out. 

This is another common sight on our Indian roads.
Making the 'best' use of your conveyance...for your convenience!

''23rd National Road Safety Week''

"Accidents bring tears, safety brings cheer" is the theme for 23rd National Road Safety Week so as to create awareness among citizens to be safe, drive safe and arrive safe. The Road Safety Week is observed worldwide in the first week of January and in most of the cities we can notice proactive policemen and citizens working diligently to create awareness on road safety and to bring down the fatality rate on roads.

'Road Safety Week' this time is being observed during 17th-23rd January in my city (Chandigarh, India). Everyday awareness camps are being organised in various parts of the city. An interactive seminar was organised in Govt. College, Sector-46 where officials from enforcement agencies, professionals from different backgrounds, teachers, NGO's, lawmakers were present. Relevant issues that bother every road user were bought to the fore and fruitful recommendations were suggested. Chandigarh Traffic Police deserves to be lauded for its various endeavors like taking stringent action for drunken driving, engaging responsible citizens as  Traffic Marshals, deploying hi-tech gadgets, using sms alerts, interacting with citizens through Facebook and making its presence felt not only physically but also technologically. Kudos to them!!  

Stop this carnage!!

Crashes; reckless driving; road rage; deaths and injuries on road; congestion; air and noise pollution...it seems we just cant get enough when it comes to 'Traffic on Roads'. The irony is, it just keeps on growing with no possibility of cessation anywhere. The number of road fatalities and crashes is enormous, and so is the loss financially, physically and emotionally.
The following video "I don't want to die on the road", has been put together by the NGO 'Behtar Dilli', working for the betterment of India's capital, New Delhi. This video focuses exclusively at the scenario prevalent in Delhi where at least four people die on roads everyday!

For more information on 'BehtarDilli', log onto http://behtardilliblog.wordpress.com/

Try these Awareness Tests..

Cyclists and Pedestrians are the vulnerable lot, more probable of being victimized in Road Crashes. Road fatality statistics all over the world reveal the same pattern. Although not much attention is paid to them in our part of the world, certain awareness campaigns do reflect the need of the hour which is required. The awareness tests for cyclists safety, several TV commercials devised by Transport for London is commendable and thought provoking indeed. Have a Look:

Look out for cyclists...pedestrians...children...and lot more while driving!  Be safe. 

Is Enforcement the Only answer??

Every time I see people not adhering to traffic rules makes me wonder Why is the enforcement needed to tell us as to what is right or safe for us? Driving license holders are 18+ year age group. So aren't we mature enough to discriminate between what is right and wrong, and to what is safe or unsafe for us?
Recently I happened to visit Dehradun (District Uttarakhand, India) and I was happy to see women two-wheeler drivers wearing helmets though only the drivers and not the pillion riders. More so many of them purchasing things on roadside with their helmets on and not minding the way they looked, which was good sight for me as back here the place I live in, majority of women two-wheeler riders do not bother to wear helmets (as it is not enforced here for some religious reason). Ironically enforcement again was the answer, it is compulsory for the women riders in Dehradun to wear helmet which is the reason they adhered to it. Why things have to be enforced and it cannot come from within?

Road crashes come unannounced and we have to accept the fact that we human beings are not invincible, so being safe and doing everything for our own safety, of our near and dear ones and to the other road users is of prime importance. Mobility is a necessity and so is our safety when mobile!!